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Wet Charcoal...


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Posted

i know, off topic..but almost lost everything.

hello, new member here, was reading through the posts here and thought I would share an experience and lesson I learned a couple months ago.

  It was October 1st. I remember because it's our Anniversary. So I planned on grilling some jalapeño poppers and Ribeyes for dinner. Go to get the charcoal out and notice it's a little damp...Damn, can't use that. So, I put the bag under the eave of the house to keep it out of anymore snow or rain. GO to the store and get a new bag of charcoal. Had a great meal, it was good.

  The Dog is going Crazy and when I open my eyes all I see is smoke and haze in the upstairs room, the wife is is saying something's on fire, What?, Something's on fire ! now I'm awake. Running downstairs , my neighbor comes in the house and starts yelling to get out. sorry, I'm naked I say, but let's put it out!

  Thankfully we had a couple full fire extenguishers and were able to put the main fire out in the rafters before loosing the house.

apparently the bag of damp charcoal can and Will self ignite. Who Knew?  The fire chief and the insurance man both confirmed that it happens a lot more often than you might think. So, if a bag of charcoal does get left out and rain or snowed on, Do Not Store it anywhere near your home or garage!

IMG_0996.JPG

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Posted

Holy Crap on a Cracker!!

I'm glad you were able to save the house!!  that looks too close for comfort!!

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Posted

Wowzer, I've never heard of that one before. I used to be on a volunteer fire department and have quite a bit of training as well. Glad it wasn't worse. Can you replace the outer logs or is it actually a structural log home? Sad.

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Posted (edited)

Wowzer, I've never heard of that one before. I used to be on a volunteer fire department and have quite a bit of training as well. Glad it wasn't worse. Can you replace the outer logs or is it actually a structural log home? Sad.

Looks like it is only surface charring, and could be cleaned up with some work.   I never dreamed or heard of the wet charcoal either - We used to worry about our blackpowder rifles getting the priming damp, because it wouldn't burn.  My 2-story house had 27" double stone walls when it completely burned - The fire marshal said the stone walls kept the heat in and it was like a blast furnace - The cause was unknown - Unfortunately, State Farm Insurance had to be sued to get them to pay - I got about half of the value - took 2 1/2 years to settle, and of course I got screwed!   EDMO

Edited by EDMO

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Posted

That could have been soooo much worse!

A low pressure sandblast will get it looking like new again if the charring hasn't gone too deep.

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Posted

Scary stuff right there, fortunate you caught it when you did! Send some pics of your home to this U Cal Berkeley brain trust that says spontaneous combustion of damp charcoal briquettes is impossible. http://www.iafss.org/publications/fss/7/593/view

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Posted (edited)

Scary stuff right there, fortunate you caught it when you did! Send some pics of your home to this U Cal Berkeley brain trust that says spontaneous combustion of damp charcoal briquettes is impossible. http://www.iafss.org/publications/fss/7/593/view

There are no "brains" at U Cal Berkely - just tree-huggers, gun-haters, and other "Lovers"!   My step-son went there, and I think he got the same opinion.   EDMO

Edited by EDMO

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Posted

Au contraire Ed. One of my all time heroes, 'Rube' Goldberg, was an alumni. :)

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Posted (edited)

Au contraire Ed. One of my all time heroes, 'Rube' Goldberg, was an alumni. :)

My step-son was in the Law classes - Not engineering like our hero, Rube!  I think I mentioned Rube's name the first time I saw the mixer system on the Kitfox!  :lol:  EDMO

Edited by EDMO
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Posted

Au contraire Ed. One of my all time heroes, 'Rube' Goldberg, was an alumni. :)

One simple question, Doug:  When was that?

The answer to that question will answer all the rest. 

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Posted

Damp sawdust will self-combust, too.  We had a dumpster full of it light off and burn the paint off the  dumpster over a rainy weekend when I worked at the aircraft supply house years ago.

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Posted (edited)

I've seen several barns burn down when the hay self-combusted.  Donno if it was damp, wet, or too green.  We never stored hay in the barn.  EDMO

Edited by EDMO

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